In this part of Africa, food is something we adore and at the right price, you're definitely up and doing. The popular belief is that most men cannot cook and it's mostly women who are "chefy" while this can be sometimes true, this isn't always true. I have watched so many videos about men who are great chefs, I've seen Turkish chefs, French chefs and even Spanish chefs owning YouTube channels are doing their thing but this is majorly difficult to see in Nigeria.
In cases where I have seen chefs who are men are either in television commercials or maybe in reality TV shows but this isn't to say there aren't male chefs, this is to say there are probably only a handful and cooking becomes more of a thing when it's commercialised.
In the big cities, most restaurant try to mirror what the Chinese or french would cook with YouTube being a big help to them. Nevertheless I find it strange that people would watch a video of a fish being filted, soy sauce added, coriander and well caviar and just served raw and then begin to crave such.
In western Africa we depend more on staple food, the yam, the bread, the rice and the beans but then some few rich people have westernized their eating habits. Its difficult to see someone who was brought up eating yam flour and melon seed soup beginning to eat sushi for lunch or ordering chinese. Why is this? This is because some people have a craving always for new food another reason is probably having some money to throw around.
Seafood are of the most expensive food i've ever eaten, while i might have not eaten a crab or some of those rare sea stuffs with incredulous shells and colorful mandibles,
I have eaten a lot of fish and prawns and even when they're expensive, its not as ridiculous as buying a 200$ dish of crab cooked in different pattern. Another reason is that Africans who have experienced the culture of other people maybe while on a visit will adopt their eating patterns.
Africans are really good at adopting culture, food, style of dressing and even accent of any culture because they find it really fascinating. Another thing would be working with maybe chinese or maybe french people and having a taste of their good, this is probably a way to become hooked and influenced.
Nevertheless there are still people who would stick to the kind of food they were brought up with no matter their exposure to foreign food. Pizza and maybe hamburgers aren't not originally Nigerian food but then it feels relatable, its like putting "akara" inside of bread and of course eating. Sometimes we adopting an eating pattern or enjoy eating a particular kind of food simply because it feels relatable.
A lot of Nigerians grew up eating Jollof rice with crayfish, prawns, beef, sardines with meat cooked together, well this exactly feels like eating a lamb shank biryani* because its still rice cooked in meat with stock and a lot of spice. While it is easier to eat foreign food that feels relatable, food like shark sushi isn't and definately strange.
African food is unique and well in some countries like Kenya they drink blood from an animal mixed with milk as a rich source of iron. This can be compared to a dish of fermented blood eaten by some Asians in a Vietnamese restaurant. Vietnamese loves raw blood dishes and while a Kenya can relate to blood, its easy to eat a blood dish.
Whats my point? people can easily eat what feels relatable, I can easily eat Indian food because they cook it more than Chinese which is always probably half cooked and this is me speaking the minds of many Nigerians. Food is serious business and its a personal thing too, people makes choices switching from one culture to another, while many others finds it rather difficult.
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The only luxury I really care about is food. I don’t buy really expensive meals but I eat out often and I’m so used to variety. My hometown is near NYC and so we have a different countries good every day. For me, American food was Greek on Monday, Chinese on Tuesday, Italian on Wednesday, Thai on Thursday, Mexican on Friday, Turkish on Saturday and Japanese on Sunday. I’m exaggerating, but that feels more American to me than hamburgers and hotdogs. Even the dining hall in University felt like that. This is by far my favorite thing about America but luckily Japanese enjoy showing off their worldliness so I can continue eating this way.
I love a lot of food that most Americans can’t eat though, congealed duck blood or pork blood from Taiwan being the one they like they least.
I really like the Tilapia I had at a Nigerian restaurant, and Dodo, I could probably eat dodo every day.
These days my favorite foods are Indonesian Nasi Campur and Ethiopian dishes, though there are only two Ethiopian restaurants in Tokyo. Also, I like to buy sushi at half price after 8 pm 😃.
It’s fun to see how different countries react to different food. I should write something on this.
America feels like a mixed culture this means that even foreign food has come to stay and this should probably be because of a lot of immigrants coming in and settling; setting up varieties of businesses and of course establishing a mainstay.
In Nigeria this isn't so, our food is our food as we don't have a lot of immigrants coming in but I can categorically tell you that Nigeria has arguably the best kind of foods in Africa. I didn't know you have eaten any of Nigerian dishes before.
I think you should try jollof rice and probably pounded yam and egusi soup, this are some exotic highlights you know.
I'll like to read your experiences regarding these foods you've eaten and your thoughts concerning them. Thanks a million for dropping by always.
I think I am one of those Africans. Though haven’t really eaten much foreign food before but their looks is always eye catching and it always makes me want a taste of it.
You’re also right. People do like to eat what they can relate to. For me I can’t relate to blood meal and don’t think I’ll be able to eat it but I do find most foreign food cool and nice
I have seen the blood meal, while a Kenyan can relate, it's difficult for a Nigerian to relate. Food is about relativity even when we're eventually trying out new things by all means. I don't like trying a lot and maybe it's because I don't have the money to do so. Thanks for dropping by my friend
Yes you’re right. It’s all about what you can relate to.
You’re always welcome brother 😊😊
This is an interesting article regarding different food cuisines. I can relate to some of the points you mentioned. I think people in this age are more inclined towards foreign food because it gives a sense of being exotic. I remember back then when I was a student it was difficult agreeing where to eat because most of my friends wanted to try new types of food almost every week and non-local food are expensive.
Lovely comment, well you're right, people want to try new things and basically I think it has become the new thing in our generation. A lot of other people still want to maintain their food culture, sadly not a lot of people want to do so but then food in general is s good thing, the experience and memory continuously lives with us
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